"1998 Irish Masters The 1998 Irish Masters was the twenty-fourth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 24 to 29 March 1998. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kildare, and featured twelve professional players. Ronnie O'Sullivan won the final 9–3 against Ken Doherty, however O'Sullivan failed a post-final drugs test and tested positive for cannabis. He was stripped of the title and disqualified from the tournament with the victory awarded to Doherty. <nowiki>*</nowiki> Ronnie O'Sullivan was stripped of the title and disqualified from the tournament after winning 9–3. O'Sullivan failed a drugs test after testing"
"positive for Cannabis. Ken Doherty was awarded the title. 1998 Irish Masters The 1998 Irish Masters was the twenty-fourth edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place from 24 to 29 March 1998. The tournament was played at Goffs in Kildare, and featured twelve professional players. Ronnie O'Sullivan won the final 9–3 against Ken Doherty, however O'Sullivan failed a post-final drugs test and tested positive for cannabis. He was stripped of the title and disqualified from the tournament with the victory awarded to Doherty. <nowiki>*</nowiki> Ronnie O'Sullivan was stripped of the title and disqualified from the tournament after"
"9–3 in the final of the Irish Masters, a post-match drug test found traces of cannabis in his system. O'Sullivan was stripped of the title, forfeited the prize money and the title was awarded to Doherty by the WPBSA. O'Sullivan reached the World Championship semi-finals for the second time in his career, but lost 9–17 to eventual champion John Higgins. O'Sullivan began the 1998/1999 season by winning the non-ranking Scottish Masters, but went on to win no more titles during the season. At the UK Championship, O'Sullivan was defending champion, but withdrew from the tournament shortly before his scheduled first-round"
"tobacco sponsorship was outlawed in Ireland in 2000, the Irish government funded the event from 2001 and it was subsequently relocated to the Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Co. Dublin. The tournament was staged on an invitational basis for most of its existence but became a ranking tournament from the 2002/03 season. The event was dropped from the calendar in the 2005/2006 season. In 2007, a three-day invitational event known as the Kilkenny Irish Masters was staged with 16 players. It attracted a strong field with 9 of the world's top 16 players taking part, with Ronnie O'Sullivan winning the title. The"
"the same day O'Sullivan said that he found the contract ""too onerous"" and that he was in a stage of his career where he did not wish to make the commitment. On 7 August it was announced that he had now signed the contract and would be playing in October's International Championship and December's UK Championship. After the Shanghai Masters he dropped out of the top sixteen for the first time since entering it in the 1994/1995 season, as he was ranked world number 17. O'Sullivan's return to snooker was short-lived, as he withdrew from the inaugural International Championship due"
"Davis as he lost in the qualifying round of the Welsh Open, the first round of both the World Open and Players Tour Championship Finals and in the second round of the China Open. However, he was still ranked 16 in the world at the cut-off for the 2013 World Championship, but was forced to qualify due to world number 28 and reigning champion Ronnie O'Sullivan deciding to defend his title after taking a year away from professional snooker. O'Sullivan was therefore the number one seed, meaning Davis dropped out of the top 16 who were guaranteed a spot in"
"under the rules of snooker the referee should have called a 7-point foul. These incidents led Stephen Hendry to say that O'Sullivan was not fully focused. ""Personally I think it is a sign he has got other things on his mind,"" said Hendry. ""He is not focused properly on winning the World Championship."" O'Sullivan won the pro–am Pink Ribbon tournament in July 2015, defeating Darryn Walker 4–2 in the final, but took a hiatus from the professional tour for almost eight months. He declined to defend his Champion of Champions and UK Championship titles, stating that he was suffering from"
"Irish Masters The Irish Masters was a professional snooker tournament. It was founded in 1978, following on from the successful Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (alternatively known as the Benson & Hedges Ireland Championship). The final champion of the tournament was Ronnie O'Sullivan. The Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament started out as a challenge match in 1975 between Alex Higgins and John Spencer. In 1976 and 1977 the event was staged as a four-man invitational, and was replaced by the Irish Masters in 1978. Benson & Hedges continued their sponsorship with the tournament being played at Goffs, Co. Kildare. After"
"his twelfth Masters final despite problems with his cue tip. In the final, he defeated Joe Perry 10–7 to win his seventh Masters title, setting the record for the most number of title wins at the tournament. After the tournament, O'Sullivan received a disciplinary letter from World Snooker over comments he made to the press after his match with Fu. He criticised referee Terry Camilleri's performance and a photographer during post-match interviews. This led to O'Sullivan stating that he would no longer give in-depth answers in interviews or press conferences, claiming ""when I share my thoughts, I risk being fined""."
"2017/2018 Ronnie O'Sullivan snooker season The 2017/2018 Ronnie O'Sullivan snooker season began with the Hong Kong Masters in July 2017. His opening match was against John Higgins on 21 July. The season saw O'Sullivan win five world ranking tournaments, including his 6th UK Championship title, make his 900th career total century break and his 14th career total maximum break. His season ended on 28 April 2018 after falling to Ali Carter 9–13 in the second round of the World Championship. After reaching the final of the non-ranking invitational Hong Kong Masters, O'Sullivan found an extended period of form where he"
"missed the final round of the last 128 at the Welsh Open with a 4–5 defeat to Steve Judd. In the 1997 World Snooker Championship he retired in the second qualifying round. Although he was able to improve from 414th place to 257th place in the world rankings since 1994, he lost his main tour seat at the end of the season. In January 1998, he participated as an amateur player at the qualification for the 1998 World Snooker Championship and retired there in the first round against Ali Carter. By a 6-0 victory against Hitesh Naran in the final"
"era of player. In 1993, at the age of 17, Ronnie O'Sullivan became the youngest ever winner of a ranking event by beating Hendry himself at the 1993 UK Championship final. Though the standard of snooker continued to rapidly increase, the immense popularity that Snooker enjoyed started to wane. ITV stopped screening ranking events after the 1993 British Open and during this period, much attributed to the economic recession, prize money totals started to stagnate or decrease for events outside the World Championship. Snooker also suffered from the recovery of football's reputation after the 1990 World Cup and especially after"
"announced his retirement on live BBC television during the tournament's first weekend. Before play began on the first Sunday afternoon, an emotional Davis lifted the World Snooker Championship trophy before the Crucible audience for a final time, receiving a standing ovation. Stephen Maguire lost 7–10 to fellow Scot Alan McManus in his fourth consecutive first-round defeat at the Crucible. As a result, Maguire dropped out of the world's top 16 at the end of the season. After his 10–7 victory over David Gilbert, Ronnie O'Sullivan refused to attend a mandatory post-match press conference, and also refused to talk to the"
"O'Sullivan failed to defend his UK Championship title, losing to Joe Perry 5–9 in the second round. O'Sullivan had conceded the twelfth game of the match to go 5–7 down, although Perry held a lead of only 23 points to zero. Commenting afterwards, O'Sullivan said ""It might have looked like I lost my head or whatever, but I'm sure I'll bounce back."" For this he was later fined £300, and was ordered to pay £1,000 in costs. In the Masters, O'Sullivan reached the final by beating Joe Perry, Ali Carter and Stephen Maguire. In a tense final against defending champion"
"the 1993 UK Championship at the age of 17 years and 358 days, making him the youngest player ever to win a ranking title, a record he still holds. Noted for his mercurial temperament, as well as his struggles with alcohol, drugs, and depression, O'Sullivan has often been a controversial figure in the sport. He has received many warnings and sanctions from its governing body over his conduct and comments and has repeatedly threatened to retire. He took a break from the sport during the 2012/2013 season, and threatened in late 2018 to form a breakaway snooker tour. Outside his"
"was involved in an incident with assistant press officer, Michael Ganley, in the press room. O'Sullivan admitted to assaulting Ganley during the incident. For this snooker's governing body, the WPBSA, gave O'Sullivan a two-year suspended ban and a £20,000 fine, and advised him to donate £10,000 to charity, but allowed him to continue competing at the event. In the 1996/1997 season, O'Sullivan won two ranking titles: the Asian Classic by narrowly defeating Brian Morgan 9–8 in the final, and the German Open by defeating Alain Robidoux 9–7 in the final. O'Sullivan again reached the final of the Charity Challenge, where"
"2005 Masters (snooker) The 2005 Rileys Club Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 13 and 20 February 2005 at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, England. Ronnie O'Sullivan won his second Masters title beating John Higgins, whom he also beat during O'Sullivan's other title win in 1995, 10–3. Not since Steve Davis whitewashed Mike Hallett 9–0 in 1988 had there been such a runaway London final. Davis meanwhile defeated defending champion Paul Hunter 6–5, before losing to Peter Ebdon in the quarter-finals. Another veteran, Jimmy White, who had recently signed a madcap sponsorship deal with"
"the Irish Masters. He reached the last 16 of the Scottish Open, before losing against Ken Doherty. His only first-round ranking event defeat of the season came at the World Championship, when he lost 6–10 in the first round against the unseeded Marco Fu, despite making a maximum break in the match. This defeat saw him drop to number 3 in the rankings. He participated in the Premier League, but despite topping the table after the league stage, he lost 4–6 in the semi-final against Fu. In the 2003/2004 season, O'Sullivan reached three ranking-event finals. He reached the final of"
"champion John Higgins. O'Sullivan withdrew from the first ranking event of the season, the Shanghai Masters, citing back problems for which doctors had advised him not to travel. He also chose not to enter the invitational Pot Black tournament. He made the final of the Grand Prix, but lost 6–9 against Marco Fu. During the Northern Ireland Trophy, he set a new record by compiling five centuries in a 5–2 win over Ali Carter. This also included his seventh official competitive 147 maximum break. O'Sullivan went out of the tournament in the next round, having lost against Fergal O'Brien. On"
"well and I was beaten by the better player."" 2000 Champions Cup The 2000 Champions Cup was the 2000 edition of the Champions Cup snooker tournament which was held from 26 August to 3 September 2000 at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, East Sussex. Ronnie O'Sullivan won the tournament, defeating World Champion and world number one Mark Williams seven frames to five (7–5) to claim the seventeenth professional snooker tournament of his career. In the semi-finals, O'Sullivan defeated the reigning holder of the Champions Cup trophy Stephen Hendry 5–2 and Williams beat John Higgins 5–2. O'Sullivan made the highest break"
"Sir Rodney Walker later issued a statement declaring that O'Sullivan had been excused from dealing with the media because of the exceptional circumstances affecting him. This decision was criticised by Shaun Murphy. O'Sullivan went on to win the tournament against Ding Junhui, on 21 January 2007. In the match, he was noted for his good sportsmanship by Steve Davis, specifically for comforting Ding after the twelfth frame, during which Ding had become visibly upset by an overly partisan member of the crowd, who was later ejected. O'Sullivan was leading 9–3 at the time, and won the next frame for a"
"match, O'Sullivan declined the opportunity to make a maximum break, potting the pink off the penultimate red and completing a break of 146. He stated afterward that the prize money of £10,000 was not worthy of a 147. World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn called the decision ""unacceptable"" and ""disrespectful"". In the second round, he defeated Tian Pengfei 4–0 in just 39 minutes, with breaks of 110, 90, 112 and 102 in the four frames played. Tian scored only 37 points in the match. In the third round, he defeated Jimmy Robertson 4–0 in 55 minutes, a performance that included breaks"
"present. The incident caused minor disruption to the other quarter-final match, between Graeme Dott and Steve Davis, being played simultaneously in the same arena. Dott later said that he initially thought that O'Sullivan and Hendry were having a fight when he heard an audience member shout ""Get a grip, Ronnie."" It was later officially confirmed that O'Sullivan had forfeited the match, which was awarded 9–1 to Hendry. O’Sullivan issued a statement later that day, apologising and saying that he would be ""back on his feet fighting stronger and harder than ever very soon."" On 31 May 2007, World Snooker fined"
"the final. O'Sullivan captured two more ranking titles in the 1997/1998 season. By beating three-time defending champion Stephen Hendry 10–6 in the final, O'Sullivan won his second UK Championship title. O'Sullivan also triumphed at the Scottish Open by defeating John Higgins 9–5 in the final. For the third year in a row, O'Sullivan made the final of the Charity Challenge. He was defeated, like the year previous, in a final frame decider, 8–9 to John Higgins. For the first time in three years O'Sullivan did not reach the final at the Masters, losing to Steve Davis. After defeating Ken Doherty"
"rounds, under the last 128 but he came at any tournament. He did not get beyond rank 222 in the world ranking list. In the Snooker season 1997/1998, the field of players was split into Main Tour and UK Tour. He had to go to the WPBSA Qualifying School, his best result was the group semifinals in the fourth tournament, which was not enough. Instead of big tournaments, he had to play UK Tour tournaments this year. His best result was the quarter-finals in tournament 4. In 1998/99 he returned to the Main Tour and had his greatest success in"
"after the deciding frame went to a re-spotted black. This match is regarded by many as one of the greatest in the history of the game. He also lost his World No. 1 ranking for the first time since 1990 and was eliminated in the first round of the World Championship, losing heavily to White (4–10). The 1998/1999 season began with an embarrassing 0–9 first-round loss in the UK Championship to unseeded Marcus Campbell. However, a resurgent Hendry won the last two events in the campaign – the Scottish Open and a record seventh World title. After beating Ronnie O'Sullivan"
"defeating Ali Carter 6–1 in the quarter-finals and Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–1 in the semis. The latter victory marked the first time O'Sullivan had been eliminated at that stage of the event after 10 prior wins and also ended a run of 15 consecutive wins in all competitions. However, in the final Robertson suffered the heaviest defeat in the Masters since 1988 as Shaun Murphy thrashed him 10–2. He didn't lose a frame in reaching the quarter-finals of the German Masters, but Stephen Maguire got the two snookers he required in the deciding frame when Robertson accidentally potted the black and"
"5–6 in a ""tense"" quarter-final after being 5–2 ahead. O'Sullivan did not defend his China Open title, losing 3–5 to Mark Selby in the quarter-finals. In the match, he played a series of reckless shots and conceded two frames before snookers were even required. O'Sullivan reached the semi-finals of the Thailand Masters, before losing to Williams by 2–5. O'Sullivan then suffered two early defeats at the Irish Masters and the Scottish Open. At the Irish Masters, where he was defending champion, he lost in his opening match in the quarter-finals 2–6 to Matthew Stevens. At the Scottish Open, he again"
"was due to attend the hearing. Hann did not attend and was found guilty ""in absentia"". The newspaper did not go through with any agreement, but by agreeing to lose the game Hann was in breach of rule 2.8, which states ""a member shall not directly or indirectly solicit, attempt to solicit or accept any payment or any form of remuneration of benefit in exchange for influencing the outcome of any game of snooker or billiards."" Hann was banned from snooker until 2014 and also fined £10,000. In 1998, he won the Lindrum Masters (named after fellow Australian Snooker/Billiard player,"
"match against England. At the 2003 Rugby World Cup his team lost to France in the quarter-finals. Ireland again missed out in the 2004 Six Nations Championship, losing the Grand Slam to France this time, but went on to win Ireland's first Triple Crown in 19 years. While transitioning the team during the 2005, O'Sullivan's side finished in third place with defeats by France and Wales. In 2006 defeat to France cost Ireland the Championship. In 2007 again Ireland lost the championship to France on points difference. On the final day of the tournament despite defeating Italy heavily in Rome"
"he had used seven tips before arriving in Sheffield, and a further eight during the week, and that he would return next season with a new cue. O'Sullivan's decision not to enter the Malta Cup cost him the number-one rank for the following season. On his way to the final of the Northern Ireland Trophy, which he lost 6–9 to Ding Junhui, he defeated semi–final opponent Dominic Dale 6–0, in only 53 minutes—a record for a best-of-11-frames match. O'Sullivan then reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix, but lost 1–5 against eventual champion Neil Robertson. In December 2006, in his"
"match. His manager stated that he was ""suffering from physical and nervous exhaustion"" and that his doctor had ordered ""a complete rest from snooker"". Later reports stated instead that he was suffering from depression at the time. In the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open, O'Sullivan made the second maximum of his professional career, playing against James Wattana. O'Sullivan reached the quarter-finals of the Masters, but lost 2–6 to Ken Doherty. In his fourth consecutive final in the Charity Challenge, and in a repeat outcome of last year's final: O'Sullivan lost to John Higgins again, this time 4–9. At the World"
"Ronnie O'Sullivan before losing 5–0 to White in the quarter-finals. A month later he beat White en route to the semi-finals of the Thailand Open, where he lost to James Wattana. His world ranking peaked at #31 in the 1992/1993 season, but he had dropped out of the world's top 64 by 1997/98. He also holds the distinction of having won each of his three matches against Stephen Hendry. He now works as a commentator for World Snooker LiveTV which is broadcast on the internet, and also as an MC at snooker events. Mark Johnston-Allen Mark Johnston-Allen (born 28 December"